I have been reading some messages in this forum and began to think about The Night Show years ago when Jack Parr was the host

Some nights he would have 4 or 5 people who could use multiple languages.

Jack would (whisper?) tell a short story ( or joke) to one of the guest.
Each guest would say the story to another guest but in another language.
When the story was told to the last member of the group they would tell Jack and the audience in English what they heard and most times the story was very different than it was first told
Ed
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Hi Ed,

Wed 22 Jan 2025 at 23:44, you wrote to All:

I have been reading some messages in this forum and began to think
about The Night Show years ago when Jack Parr was the host
Some nights he would have 4 or 5 people who could use multiple
languages. Jack would (whisper?) tell a short story ( or joke) to one
of the guest. Each guest would say the story to another guest but in another language. When the story was told to the last member of the
group they would tell Jack and the audience in English what they heard
and most times the story was very different than it was first told

Humans are "unreliable narrators", of sorts.
You would expect the same "faulty phone line" effect if you decided to feed it into an online translator, like Google, some 15-20 years ago. However, today's Google translation algorithms are so advanced and precise it's scary. :-)

======
- Do you see yonder cloud that's almost in shape of a camel?
- By the mass, and 'tis like a camel, indeed.
- Methinks it is like a weasel.
- It is backed like a weasel.
- Or like a whale?
- Very like a whale.

GT translation chain: English - Russian - Italian - German - Turkish - Polish - English, and here's the result:

- Do you see that the cloud is almost a camel?
- For fair and really like a camel.
- Metts is like love.
- He is supported as love.
- Is it like a whale?
- Like a whale.
======

I can see how "weasel" turned into "love" at some point because of the ambiguous Russian translation of the word, but all in all, really good job!


... Error #030: SysOp is out of beer
--- dED+/ˆ‚– 1.1.5
* Origin: Microstuff, Inc. (2:5023/24.4222)

Hi Ed,

Wed 22 Jan 2025 at 23:44, you wrote to All:

Humans are "unreliable narrators", of sorts.
You would expect the same "faulty phone line" effect if you decided to feed it into an online translator, like Google, some 15-20 years ago. However, today's Google translation algorithms are so advanced and precise it's scary. :-)

======
- Do you see yonder cloud that's almost in shape of a camel?
- By the mass, and 'tis like a camel, indeed.
- Methinks it is like a weasel.
- It is backed like a weasel.
- Or like a whale?
- Very like a whale.

GT translation chain: English - Russian - Italian - German - Turkish - Polish - English, and here's the result:

- Do you see that the cloud is almost a camel?
- For fair and really like a camel.
- Metts is like love.
- He is supported as love.
- Is it like a whale?
- Like a whale.
======

I can see how "weasel" turned into "love" at some point because of the ambiguous Russian translation of the word, but all in all, really good job!

... Error #030: SysOp is out of beer
--- dED+/êéû 1.1.5
* Origin: Microstuff, Inc. (2:5023/24.4222)

Re: people being narrators

When I was working at a 600' Lock on the Ohio River deckhands on the tows would sometimes tell me a joke, and if I thought it was real good I would tell it to other deckhands as other tows came through the Lock.

After telling it 3 or 4 times I would finally tell the joke as well as I heard it told to me.
Ed
--- SBBSecho 3.20-Linux
* Origin: capitolcityonline.net * Telnet/SSH:2022/HTTP (1:2320/105)

Hi, Ed! Recently you wrote in a message to All:

I have been reading some messages in this forum and began
to think about The Night Show years ago when Jack Parr was
the host

Some nights he would have 4 or 5 people who could use
multiple languages.

I reckon translation is as much an art as a science...

Jack would (whisper?) tell a short story ( or joke) to one
of the guest. Each guest would say the story to another
guest but in another language. When the story was told to
the last member of the group they would tell Jack and the
audience in English what they heard and most times the story
was very different than it was first told

... and when I was growing up a very similar game was often played at children's parties. It may take a few more repetitions when everyone speaks the same language. On TV, however, the action must leave time for commercials.

As a teacher, I learned later that if you say "There are red & yellow chrysanthemums in Mr. McGarrity's garden" you may have exceeded the outer limits of someone's auditory memory &/or they didn't understand all your words.... :-)




--- timEd/386 1.10.y2k+
* Origin: Wits' End, Vancouver CANADA (1:153/716)

Hi, Ed! Recently you wrote in a message to All:

I reckon translation is as much an art as a science...

... and when I was growing up a very similar game was often played at children's parties. It may take a few more repetitions when everyone speaks the same language. On TV, however, the action must leave time for commercials.

As a teacher, I learned later that if you say "There are red & yellow chrysanthemums in Mr. McGarrity's garden" you may have exceeded the outer limits of someone's auditory memory &/or they didn't understand all your words.... :-)

--- timEd/386 1.10.y2k+
* Origin: Wits' End, Vancouver CANADA (1:153/716)

Now that I am a Senior and have Hearing Aids I tell folks that I'm thick headed and hard of hearing.

Might as well tell the truth.
Ed
--- SBBSecho 3.20-Linux
* Origin: capitolcityonline.net * Telnet/SSH:2022/HTTP (1:2320/105)